Office of the Provost and Vice President for Educational Affairs

Mission

The Provost & Vice President for Educational Affairs is the College's chief academic officer and chief student affairs officer. He provides administrative oversight for the five schools, various academic programs and support services, as well as campus life, athletics, student organizations, spiritual life, student engagement and diversity initiatives. The Office of the Provost develops and implements academic policies and programs, in accordance with College-wide principles and priorities, in collaboration with all members of the Ithaca College community.

This work includes promoting faculty research and creative activity, overseeing the academic curriculum in accordance with expectations of professional and regional accreditation organizations, faculty/student collaboration, leadership development, and the personal development of the whole student in the context of Ithaca's college education. The Office of the Provost works collaboratively with partners on and beyond campus to help all our students learn and grow to realize their potential as global citizens so that they are prepared, upon completion of their degree programs, to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives in which they contribute to their communities.

About Benjamin Rifkin

Dr. Benjamin (“Ben”) Rifkin became Provost and Vice President for Educational Affairs at Ithaca College on June 1, 2015. Before coming to Ithaca College, Dr. Rifkin served as a Professor of Russian and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at The College of New Jersey. He earned his bachelor's and first master's degrees in Russian and East European Studies at Yale University, his second master's degree and his Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan. His areas of research include methods of teaching foreign languages, applied linguistics, and late Soviet era cinema.